Gas valve



@atenten 8, i925.

UNITED STATES GEORGE A. CATHEY, OF PORTLAND, OREGON.

GAS VALVE.

Application filed February 3, 192,5. Serial No. A6,640.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, Grenen A. Cari-mr, a citizen of the United StateS, residing at Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State of Oregon, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas Valves, of which the following is a specilication.

The invention generally relates to gas valves and has for its object to provide such I0 a valve as will automatically function to 'cut off the supply of gas to a burner when the pressure thereof falls below the pressure necessary to sustain the light of that burner, thereby preventing dangerous gas leakage.

`With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear the invention further resides in those novel details of construction first fully described in the following description, then particularly pointed out in the appended claim, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal section illustrating the invention.

Figure 2 is a plan View of the invention.

Figures 3 and 4 are cross sections taken on the lines 8 3 and 4-4 respectively.

In the drawing in which like numerals of reference indicate like parts in all the figures 1 represents a gas conduit pipe adapted to communicate between a source of gas supply and a burner. As the source of supply and the burner form no part of the invention illustration thereof is vdeemed unnecessary.

The conduit section 1 is constructed to include a valve seat Q, adapted to accommodate the ball valve 3, movement of which is provided for in the housing extension 4, screw capped at 5, and the said valve and seat serve to divide the said conduit into a passage portion 6, in advance of the seat, and a passage portion 7, beyond the seat, the purpose for which will later appear.

A valve unseating lever 8 having an upturned ball engaging end 9 is pivotally mounted in the passage portion 7 on the cross pin 10 mounted in the wallsiof the conduit l. A pull rod 11y is secured to the lever at 12 and extends upwardly through a port 13 which communicates with the interior of the diaphragm 14 secured to the conduit at 15.

diaphragm as at 19 and is extended through lair port 18 to provide a convenient hand ho. c.

The conduit section 1 may be end threaded ,as at 2O to facilitate its being spliced into any gas conduit with which it is to coopcrate for' its designed purpose.

Those familiar with the use of gas burn* ers have experienced that the pressure of the supplied thereto frequently falls below that necessary to sustain the active condition of the burners. l/Vhen this condition occurs the burners snuffl out and the gas continues to leak out. The danger and waste occasioned by such a happening is obvious and to provide a simply constructed valve device capable of automatically functioning to completely cut oil' the supply of gas when its pressure falls below that necessary to sustain the function of the burner is the p-urpose of this invention.

The operation of the invention is as follows. Assume the ball valve 3 to be normally seated by gravity and gas pressure in the passage portion 6, thus cutting off communication through the passage portion 7 to the burner. vThe pressures in the passage portion 7 and the chamber surrounding the diaphragm 14 are equal (atmospheric pressure) and the said diaphragm in'its normal or collapsed condition, causing the rod 11 to force the end 9 of the lever 8 away from engagement with the ball 8. t

The operator grasps the extended pull rod 11 and, by a pull thereof, distends the diaphragm to cause the lever 8 to swing upwardly on its pivot so that the end 9 thereof will engage and unseat the ball valve 3, permitting communication of the passage port-ions 6 and 7, This accomplished, and so long as the pressure of the gas remains sufficient to sustain the active condition of the burner, the gas pressure in the passage portion 7, communicating with the diaphragm 14 through the port 13, will sustain the distended condition of that diaphragm and the positioning of the lever end 9 for preventing seating of t-he valve 3.

Should the gas pressure in the passage portions 6 and 7 decrease to a point where the sustaining of active burner condition is impossible or unlikely (the diaphragm is sensitively constructed to provide for this) the diaphragm will, under atmospheric pressure, collapse-to vits normal condition firstmentioned and permit a seating of the valve 3 and the consequent complete cuttingoff of gas supply.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, the novel details of construction, manner of opera-tion and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those familiar withv the uses to which the invention may be put.

What I claim is:

A device of the class described comprising a pipe-like conduit length threaded at its opposite ends to facilitate splicing Vinto a gas conduit, a valve housing projecting from the upper Walls of the conduit length and having a valve sea-t therein, a gravity actuated valve operable in the housing, a removable closure cap for the housing, a diaphragm housing projecting from a Wall of said conduit length, a closure cap for the diaphragm housing having a port providing atmospheric communication thereinto, a hollow diaphragm in the diaphragm housing, said conduit length having a port leadling into the diaphragm housing and said diaphragm being so mounted that that port communicates With the interior thereof, an actuator rod connected to a part of the diaphragm to be moved thereby when distended, and a pivoted lever to which said rod is connected and which is constructed and mounted to cause unseating of the valve against gravity action when the diaphragm is distended.

GEORGE A. CATHEY. 

